“The government praises its dental plan, but many seniors cannot get it. This confuses seniors. The government needs to be honest with Canadians.”

“Mr. Speaker, I would love to ask that senior why they do not qualify and why the government keeps getting up and trumpeting, as if this program were the best thing in the world, when a lot of the seniors, especially in my riding, do not even qualify in the first place. Why are there two signals, two messages? When we are really talking affordability, why is the senior so confused that they cannot get the dental plan that the Liberals are championing as the best thing in the world since sliced bread? Just be honest with Canadians.”

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“Life is too expensive right now. Interest rates have doubled, mortgages are up, and farmers face record diesel prices. We need to pass this bill because it will make gas more affordable.”

“Mr. Speaker, the hon. member from Skeena—Bulkley Valley made a number of great points this morning. I was talking with a staffer. They had a five-year mortgage term ending at 1.92%, but unfortunately, five years later, now it is over 4%, so we are talking affordability. The Liberals continue to borrow at record rates. There has been a doubling of the interest rate, and a staffer was discussing, in her conversation, the affordability issue. The legislation would help. There is no question that Bill C-38 would help with the affordability of gas. I hear it in my province, because farmers are dealing with diesel and its record prices. However, I just want to talk about the hon. member’s experience with young people and the affordability issue.”

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“Young people see no future in Canada because housing and everyday life cost too much. The government talks about energy, but does nothing. We must fix our economy and make life affordable so Canada is strong again.”

“Mr. Speaker, it is as if every young person across Canada does not see a future here, not only in terms of the affordability of a house and the cost of living but also where their future is in a profession. We are talking around the issue of Canada’s becoming an energy superpower, but there is no action. We have so many different issues with Canada, but the economy and affordability are probably number one in terms of how we move forward as a strong, independent country, because the last 10 years have actually put us in a situation where Canadians are struggling, and we are trying to figure out how we move into the new global geopolitical world we are moving into when we really do not have the strength to do it.”

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“Our governments are not preparing for climate impacts like forest fires. British Columbia is not managing its forests to lower fire risks. The federal government should lead by example on the lands it controls. I hope the Conservatives will put forward a plan to do this.”

“Mr. Speaker, that question is actually very relevant. In terms of what the governments are doing, not only federally but provincially as well, we are not adapting. We have all these measures that propose to lessen the risk, but they are not doing anything about adapting to what happening in our regions. There is no measure of activity for the provincial government of B.C., for instance, to talk about forestry management in terms of forest fire risk, but Canada should be setting an example. Canada has federal lands it is responsible for, and the Indian Act lands as well. We should be setting an example, and hopefully the Conservatives will be coming up with exactly that idea.”

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“I support this bill because it lowers fuel taxes, but it does not go far enough. Life is too expensive for Canadians, especially in rural areas where people must drive long distances. Higher fuel costs also make food more expensive. The government should remove all federal taxes on gas and diesel instead.”

“Mr. Speaker, it is no surprise that people are struggling with the cost of living, and it is incumbent on us as legislators not only to listen but to act. Any tax on fuel, whether it be gas or diesel, is ultimately a tax on food. Whether the government wants to admit it or not is another question for another day, but Canadians are out of money and do not have time to wait for us to agree. I will start off by saying that while I do not think this goes far enough, it is a step in the right direction. Conservatives have been calling for the Liberals to remove taxes on fuel for months. It is nice to see that at least some of the Liberals on the other side do in fact take lessons from Conservatives. I do not believe we would be here today debating this bill had it not been for the relentless pressure from Conservatives and our Conservative caucus over the last number of years on this very topic. Conservatives like me are fighting for Canadians, who are working hard but find themselves unable to get ahead. Some 35% of Canadians say they are anxious about money, and 28% lack emergency savings to cover basic needs. Canadian families are paying 7.8% more for transportation, while the cost of groceries rose 3.1%. Well over half, or 56% of parents, said they could not fit the cost of back-to-school supplies into their normal budgets. To some, this might just seem like numbers, but do not be fooled. Behind every number and statistic is a story from a Canadian struggling to get by: someone who is pulling their groceries off the conveyor as the till ticks up faster than they expected, a family who was not quite able to complete the back-to-school shopping list because they just did not have the funds or the children who are no longer in organized sports because there is not enough money in the family budget to drive them there and back. These are the real stories of the real Canadians I heard from this summer, and I know that many of my colleagues heard very similar stories from their constituents. These are Canadians who are hard-working and have done everything right, but they find themselves in a spot where inflation is going up faster than their paycheque, and they are navigating countless challenges. This summer specifically, I heard from a number of people who are navigating challenging consumer proposals, bankruptcies and foreclosures and who are facing financial ruin because they simply could not keep up for too many months in a row. In far too many of these cases, there are children involved. The kids might not fully understand what this means, but they do know that their parents are stressed out and do not quite understand why. According to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, insolvencies have climbed to levels not seen since the aftermath of the great recession. Let that sink in. We are seeing insolvencies at a rate we have not seen since the great recession, while consumer insolvencies rose another 6.9% year over year. At the same time, mortgage delinquencies have reached their highest level since 2021. Again, behind every single one of these stats is a story of a real Canadian struggling. These are heartbreaking stories, and they are becoming far too common. Canadians already owe an average of $1.76 for every dollar of disposable household income they earn, and MNP reports that more than 40% are within $200 of insolvency at month-end. It means that 40% of Canadians are within $200 of not being able to pay their bills every single month. Many families have exhausted all of their savings, refinanced their debt and begged and borrowed simply to afford rent, mortgages and everyday necessities like groceries and school supplies. These are real-life consequences of more than a decade of Liberal mismanagement of our economy. While this bill would in fact offer some relief, it is not the cure for the out-of-control inflation Canadians are still facing. If the Liberals were serious about helping Canadian families make ends meet, they would not stop at a 10¢-per-litre break and pat themselves on the back. They would adopt our plan to remove all federal taxes on gas and diesel until at least Canada Day 2027. That means giving Canadians a break from the excise tax and the GST on gas and diesel, and permanently scrapping the seven-cents-per-litre clean fuel standard and the industrial carbon tax. This could provide 25¢ of savings per litre of gas and diesel and would bring as much as $1,000 of savings to the average Canadian family. A recent poll found that 63% of Canadians oppose the Liberal government bringing back the fuel excise tax, including 43% who strongly oppose it. There is no surprise to that because all families see are their gas prices continuing to go up month over month, or day to day, it seems. This opposition is not just concentrated in one part of the country. It crosses every region of the country: 71% in the member opposite’s riding in Manitoba and Saskatchewan; 64% in British Columbia, Alberta and Atlantic Canada; 62% in Ontario; and 60% in Quebec. It is clear that Canadians are asking for it. They need relief from the cost of living crisis. I live in rural Alberta. I represent rural Albertans. Many of my colleagues have no idea of the lengths we routinely need to travel just to live life, whether it is to go to work, take our children to school or day care, go to a medical appointment or visit family and friends. It is a 300-kilometre trip for me just to get out of town. I do not think most people in this chamber, whether they are a Conservative, Liberal or Bloc member, understand the lengths that many of us rural MPs go to to serve our constituents. Every single penny saved at the pump gives people a choice. It gives them the choice of what food they are going to put on the table for dinner that night, which events they can attend, which bills they can pay and how they can plan for their future. It gives them agency. It makes it so they are not dependent on government for every single decision in their life. For some across the country, the monthly gas or diesel bill is relatively small, but for many of the amazing people I represent, it is not small. It is a significant part of their monthly budget, and it seems to only ever go up. It is also not an optional line in their budget. Most people I represent cannot take transit most of the time because it either does not work for their schedule or simply does not exist at all. Most people cannot walk, as the distances are simply too far, and in the winter, the brutal prairie cold is not for the faint of heart. They often do not have a choice; they must drive, and every time fuel prices go up, they feel it. They understand a concept that somehow seems to elude many Liberals: When fuel prices go up, grocery prices follow, because food does not just magically appear on the table like my kids sometimes think it does, or teleport to a grocery store. It gets transported on a truck. Those trucks use diesel, and the operators of those companies cannot simply absorb those costs. Freight costs then get passed on to consumers. It is really basic economics. Conservatives are fighting to restore affordability by lowering taxes, unleashing investment, removing barriers to growth and advancing a real economic action plan that helps Canadians get ahead. The Conservative economic action plan would green-light the 500 projects that are sitting somewhere here in Ottawa on someone’s desk and were supposed to move at unimaginable speeds. Conservatives supported the Liberals in trying to move those forward. We just did not imagine that those unimaginable speeds would amount to nothing. My call to the Liberals is to get to work. Canadians are not asking for more promises. They are asking for real relief that they can actually feel in their wallets. They are working hard. They are making sacrifices and doing everything they can to provide for their families, yet too many are still falling further behind. A 10¢-per-litre reduction may provide some temporary relief, but Canadians deserve a government willing to address the broader affordability crisis and give families the certainty they need to get ahead. Conservatives will continue to fight to lower taxes, lower costs, more investment and an economy that works—”

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“This bill is a small step in the right direction, but it does not go far enough. Conservatives want the government to completely end the carbon tax on fuel. We want the Liberals to listen to us and work with us.”

“Mr. Speaker, Conservatives have long called for the abolition of the carbon tax on fuel. That is nothing new. We are happy that the Prime Minister finally listened. In the last Parliament with the last Liberal government, which had a lot of the same faces around the cabinet table, the health minister actually said that Canadians were going to burn to death if they go on a summer road trip. He was quite animated in his feelings on this. This is a small, temporary measure that is a small step in the right direction. What Conservatives are saying is that it does not go far enough and to listen to us. We are trying to work with the government and do what is best for Canadians. All that is stopping the Liberals from doing it is to open their ears and listen.”

“Liberals do not understand that fuel taxes add up and make groceries and everyday items more expensive. I want my colleague to explain this again so they get it.”

“Mr. Speaker, I think what is being lost on the Liberal side is the compounding taxes that happen and how they translate to the consumer when they either go to the grocery store or buy everyday products. I would like my colleague to expand on that, because explaining it another time might help the Liberals understand.”

“I want this bill to pass. The Liberals only want to cut fuel taxes by 10 cents a litre, which saves a family about $250 a year. That is not enough. We need to cut 25 cents a litre instead, which would save a family about $1,000 a year.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, who has been a fearless leader for the Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian Armed Forces families and a relentless champion of Canada’s Snowbirds. This is just it. It is not about the fact that the Liberals are removing 10¢ a litre. It is that Conservatives do not believe that 10¢ a litre is going to be enough to create the type of pressure relief that Canadian families need. I do not know if members opposite were in their ridings talking to people struggling over the summer. I was and I know my colleague was, and what we heard is that 10¢ a litre, which would equate to somewhere in the range of $250 for the average Canadian family for a year, is not going to make a difference, but 25¢ a litre, which is approximately $1,000 for an average family, would. It is simple.”

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“Canadians want to spend their own money instead of letting the government do it for them. Liberal programs do not help because too many people are stuck on waiting lists. Over 30% of food bank users are children, which shows these programs are not working. We should pass this bill to lower the tax on fuel.”

“Mr. Speaker, what I heard loud and clear when I was touring my riding and meeting with Canadians from coast to coast to coast this summer is that they want agency. They want to make decisions as to how they spend their own money. They think they can spend their money a lot better than Ottawa can spend their money. They might have different priorities. Some of the programs mentioned by the Liberals are well and good for the people who can access them, but far too many Canadians are stuck on waiting lists or are waiting in line trying to access those services, so they do not do anything for affordability for the thousands and thousands of Canadians who are stuck waiting in line trying to get access or stuck waiting for the schools that have not done anything. One of the biggest frustrations, whether it be with the school food program or the day care program, which are provincial responsibilities, is that the Liberals have not worked as well with the provinces as I think they could have or should have to deliver these services. What they have done is create layers of bureaucracy, which means that right now over 30% of food bank users in Canada are children. That is a shame, and that is a shame on the Liberals.”

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“I want to thank the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for what she said. She is a good and caring person.”

“Mr. Speaker, I know that this is not only questions, it is also comments. I would like to make a comment regarding my colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands. I thank her for her intervention. I know she is not a millionaire. I know she is not a billionaire, but she does have a heart of gold. I thank her for the words that she brought forward.”

“This bill does not go far enough. I want the government to change it and scrap all taxes on gas and diesel until Canada Day 2027. High fuel taxes make groceries and everyday life cost too much. We also need to cut immigration, deport people here illegally, and remove sales tax on new homes.”

“Mr. Speaker, Conservatives want to do something about gas and diesel taxes. We want to see all of those taxes scrapped until Canada Day 2027 because Canadians are struggling. That is what I am going to talk about today. I am also splitting my time with the member for Edmonton Griesbach who is going to continue the argument. Why do we want to scrap all gas and diesel taxes? They are costing Canadians money that they do not have right now. Anyone who has gone to the grocery store recently can see it is grim. I was looking to buy some chicken thighs and a small pack of chicken thighs at a not-so-fancy grocery chain was $43. When I was looking at it, somebody said, “I think that’s a deal.” That is insane. We want to see the gas tax scrapped until Canada Day next year because when that tax is in place, not only does it affect consumers at the pump who are spending money they do not have, but it also affects the cost of everything. It affects the producers who are harvesting, who need diesel for their combines. That cost is then passed along to the consumer. It takes gas and diesel to transport the goods that consumers need to buy. When those taxes are on top of that fuel, who pays for it? It is the people who are listening to this speech today. That is why the Conservatives’ core focus for the fall is to save Canadians money. This is why we are calling for the government to scrap all gas and diesel taxes until Canada Day 2027. The bill that we are debating today that the Liberals put forward does not do that. They had an opportunity to work collaboratively in the House with the opposition, which is fiscally responsible, and take our recommendations, but they are not doing that. To me, this underscores the fact that the Liberals and the Prime Minister go out and talk to people using a lot of buzzwords and a lot of aggrandizing on the international stage. However, I am not seeing a lot of results when it comes to saving Canadians money. Make no mistake; what I am hearing about in the good riding of Calgary Nose Hill, and I am always pleased to stand up and fight on behalf of my constituents, is that they need to have money saved. They cannot afford to live. They are worried about their jobs, particularly with trade uncertainty. They want to be safe and they want to see immigration fixed. All of these points can come together in some of the policies that Conservatives have been pushing, but we are just not seeing them come forward in this particular bill. I want to show members how imperative the Conservative proposal is to have the gas and diesel tax scrapped well into next year, which is not in this bill. Money Mentors reported that 49% of working Canadians feel less financially secure than they did a year ago. That is half of Canadians. This is not some esoteric guessing game. Half of Canadians are saying they do not feel as secure as they used to feel. This is particularly true for young Canadians. I know there are a lot of Canadians of secondary school age who cannot find jobs, and they are also asking what their future holds. It is imperative that we fight on behalf of those people. People are paying more for goods because of a decade of Liberal inflationary deficits. Those deficits have actually ballooned under the Prime Minister. I thought the Prime Minister was supposed to get our fiscal house in order. In fact, he has done the opposite. People ask me why they should care about deficits. Deficits matter because they add to our debt. When we add to the nation’s debt, we have to pay debt servicing costs. It is like the interest on one’s credit card. When we are paying for that, we cannot invest in other things. I heard that the Government of Canada is now paying more for the interest on its credit card than it is on health care. That is not great. We need to ensure that, if the government is spending money on things, it is spending money on things or making fiscal decisions that are going to save Canadians money. That is why Conservatives are calling for the gas and diesel tax to be scrapped well into next year, which this bill would not do. It does not go far enough. That is a key objective. The other thing is that we have to talk about how we save Canadian jobs. Eliminating the gas and diesel tax well into next year would also provide some investment certainty for certain types of businesses that are trying to figure out their operating costs in an environment where there is a lot of uncertainty, which is what is happening in the country right now. This is why we as Conservatives are so dead set on putting forward measures that would save Canadians money, and their jobs as well. I serve as the Conservative Party’s immigration shadow minister. I also serve as the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. The reality is that the Liberals brought too many people in too fast for housing, health care and jobs to keep up. That is not fair to anyone. It is not fair to the immigrants who came to Canada to build a better life. It is not fair to the Canadians who are here. In fact, that tension of bringing in too many people too fast has eroded Canada’s consensus on immigration. Now we have a lot of people competing for jobs that are rapidly disappearing. That is why Conservatives, including me and our broader team, are arguing for far lower immigration levels. We are arguing for the government to take measures to deal with this. CBC reported that there will be two million people in Canada by the end of this year who are on expired or expiring visas. We know that there are 500,000 undocumented persons and people who do not have a legal reason to be in the country. They need to leave. The government needs to have a plan to deport these people. It is not something that is comfortable for Canadians to talk about, but if people do not have a legal reason to be in the country, particularly because the Liberal government brought too many people in too fast, that problem has to be addressed. We are also going to continue to push those issues. When I hear the Liberals come forward and make all these announcements, they never seem to reach the people in my community. I think about the multitude of announcements they have made, and all I hear in my community is that people are waking up feeling like they can buy less groceries. They are less convinced that they can make their rent payments. Many of the people in my community would love to be making a mortgage payment, but they cannot afford to buy a house. Again, we are talking about saving Canadians money. That is why Conservatives are putting forward proposals like scrapping the GST on new home builds up to $1.3 million. That would save Canadians who are buying homes up to $65,000 on a new house. Those are common-sense measures that we do not see reflected in this bill that would directly impact the Canadians who are struggling to get ahead and pay their bills. This affects all Canadians. It is not just young Canadian, but seniors on fixed incomes. Inflation is in a lot of ways unique to Canada because of the policies and procedures the Liberals have put in place over the last several years. People cannot afford that. What I would like to see, and what I know everybody in the Conservative Party would like to see, is for the government, instead of bringing in this bill or even amending it, to take our suggestion to scrap the tax on gas and diesel well into next year. We propose Canada Day. The bill would not do that. I would like to see from the government not just announcements to spend government money, but announcements that would directly impact affordability, directly drive down grocery costs and directly make the lives of the constituents in my riding more affordable and more stable. This is so important. It is why we are here. We are in an economic crisis. The government put us in a weak position before this happened, but now we have to deal with it. Having bills that are just half measures is not going to cut it for the people in Calgary Nose Hill or across Canada. I implore the government to take the Conservative proposal to change this bill so that the gas tax is cut on diesel and gas up to Canada Day 2027.”

“The member opposite always defends Justin Trudeau instead of serving his community. He defended opening the Roxham Road border and letting in nearly a million temporary students. He also defended changes to temporary foreign worker rules. My party wants to end that program, except for farm workers.”

“Mr. Speaker, the member opposite vigorously defended Justin Trudeau opening the border at Roxham Road. He vigorously defended bringing in hundreds and hundreds of thousands of temporary students in about three years. I think it was close to a million. The member is one of the most vigorous defenders of Justin Trudeau in Canadian history for his constituents. Their MP defended Justin Trudeau. That is what he did for a living. Instead of being in his community, he defended Justin Trudeau. He also defended the changes Justin Trudeau made under our previous government, which were to lower the number of temporary foreign workers. We are now calling for the elimination of that and a special program for agriculture workers. However, mark my words: The member defends Justin Trudeau. He is a rabid Justin Trudeau defender, and his record in Hansard shows that.”

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“Canada's inflation is uniquely bad because of this government's choices, not just global issues. It is driving up the cost of everything. I want my colleague to say more about why our inflation is different from other countries.”

“Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague gave a compelling speech with regard to Canada’s economic state, the inflationary measures the government has put in place and how they are a net detriment to the Canadian people. One of the statements she made is that the level of inflation we are experiencing in Canada is in fact unique; it is problematic to us. The current Liberal government would like Canadians to believe that it is being experienced globally. However, that is not the case. Canada is in fact a stand-alone nation in the way that inflation is impacting its people and driving up the cost of everything. I wonder if my colleague would care to expand on that further.”

“Government overspending is causing high costs for Canadians. It is making rent and groceries more expensive, and leaving people with less housing and food. Conservatives will save Canadians money.”

“Mr. Speaker, that is such a great point, and I agree with everything my colleague just said. I want to emphasize something. I just ragged on Justin Trudeau. He is actually more fiscally responsible than the current Prime Minister is. Can members believe that? Justin Trudeau developed a more fiscally responsible budget than the current Prime Minister did. How is that possible? I thought the Prime Minister was supposed to be super awesome on the economy, yet, to my colleague’s point, the Prime Minister is raising the deficit to historic banana levels. Anybody who is watching this is not going to say that they see the results of that. They do see the results of that. They see increased costs. They see their rents increasing. They see less housing. They see less groceries and less protein in their baskets at the grocery store. This is because of what my colleague said. When the government puts forward inflationary deficits, which Canada has done and is unique in doing in the G7 right now, costs go up for average Canadians. Conservatives are going to save Canadians money.”

“Private consultants convinced the government to grow Canada's population too fast. Bringing in too many people too quickly has hurt public support for immigration.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am sorry to report to my colleague that those consultants have now been further embedded in the government. I am thinking specifically about Dominic Barton and Mark Wiseman. They were advocates for allowing 100 million people into Canada in a very short period of time. This was called the Century Initiative. Those policies were embedded within the Trudeau government, which the government’s deputy House leader just defended vigorously. Of course, that is fair to nobody. Too many people too fast is the Liberal legacy, and it eroded Canada’s consensus on immigration.”

“I support this bill, but the government should do more. It should remove all federal taxes on fuel, including the GST, until at least Canada Day 2027. Lower fuel costs help families, farmers, and truckers afford their lives and do business. The Prime Minister also needs to end the trade war with the United States to protect our auto jobs.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to this act to amend the Excise Tax Act and extend the federal fuel excise tax relief. At its core, the legislation would do something very simple. It would extend the suspension of the federal excise tax on gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel until January 31, 2027. Then the tax would come back. On February 1, the government would bring it back at half the regular rate, and on April 1, the regular excise tax rates would return. Canadians need relief at the pumps, and Conservatives have been pushing for exactly that. The Liberals originally planned to bring this tax back after Labour Day, and Conservatives pushed for the relief to continue. Canadians made clear that they are struggling with the cost of living, and the government changed its timeline. Now we are asking the Prime Minister to listen again. Conservatives are proposing to extend broader federal fuel tax relief until at least Canada Day 2027, because families in Edmonton Griesbach and right across the country are still struggling to afford their lives. They need to fill their cars, buy groceries, heat their homes and get to work without wondering what new cost is coming next. Under the bill, the current suspension would continue through January, and beginning February 1 the federal excise tax on gasoline would come back at five cents per litre. Diesel and aviation fuel would come back at two cents per litre. By April, the regular rates would be back. Conservatives believe that Canadians should get that relief for longer. If the Prime Minister recognizes that lowering fuel taxes helps Canadians today, why not extend that relief until at least Canada Day, and why stop with the excise tax? Why not look at other federal costs on fuel? Why not look at the GST? Conservatives under Prime Minister Harper cut the GST from 7% to 5%, and that relief stayed. Conservatives are calling for all federal taxes on gas and diesel to be removed until at least Canada Day 2027. That includes the GST and the cost associated with the clean fuel regulations, because every dollar matters to a family trying to make its budget work. Take a family filling up a 60-litre tank. At 10¢ a litre, that is six dollars in federal excise tax relief every time they fill up. That six dollars becomes $12, then $18 and then $24. For a family with two vehicles, it adds up even faster. That matters when they are buying groceries, when the mortgage payment is due, when the kids need new shoes or when the hydro bill comes in. The impact goes well beyond the family filling up at the local gas station. I think about the farmer, the trucker, the contractor or the small business owner. Fuel is not optional for these Canadians. It is the cost of doing business. A trucker cannot deliver food without diesel. A farmer cannot operate equipment without fuel. A contractor cannot carry lumber and tools to a job site on the bus. For millions of Canadians, driving is not a luxury; it is how they earn a living, and fuel is built into the cost of almost everything. Somebody grew the food, somebody processed it, somebody put it on a truck and somebody drove that truck to the store. Every step costs money, and fuel is part of that cost. When we lower the cost of moving goods, we help lower the cost of doing business right across this country. The same goes for construction. Liberals keep talking in the House about building more homes, but talk is cheap. It does not build homes. Canadians do not need another list of projects sitting on paper. They need shovels in the ground. They need homes built. They need mines opened. They need roads, pipelines and infrastructure moving. They need Canadian resources getting to market, and most importantly they need the jobs that come with all of it. A project does not employ a worker because Ottawa announced it. It creates opportunity when somebody actually builds it. That is how we grow this economy. That is how we raise paycheques, and that is ultimately what affordability is all about. It is not just what Canadians pay; it is also what Canadians earn. Canadians need jobs. They need investment. They need businesses expanding and hiring. They need projects moving from an announcement to a construction site. That is how Canadians get ahead. People should keep more of what they earn. Small businesses should have room to grow. Workers should receive bigger paycheques. That brings me to another major economic challenge facing Canadian workers and businesses, the trade war with the United States. Tariffs raise costs. There is no question about that. Trading tariffs back and forth does not make groceries cheaper or businesses more competitive. The Prime Minister has spent considerable time pursuing new economic relationships in Europe, but Europe is not going to simply replace the United States. Look at our auto sector. Statistics Canada reported that more than 93% of our motor vehicle exports go south of the border. That is the reality that Canadian auto workers are facing. We can pursue opportunities in Europe. We can diversify our trade somewhat. We can sell more Canadian products around the world, but European customers are not going to replace the 1.5 million Canadian vehicles sold annually to the U.S.A. Our auto industry was built around an integrated North American market. Right now, that market is being disrupted by tariffs. The Prime Minister has to get to work. He has to get the trade war resolved. He has to get the tariffs off Canadian workers and Canadian businesses. Canadian auto workers cannot afford to wait while their largest export market becomes more expensive to access. Canadian manufacturers cannot plan investments when they do not know what the rules will be six months from now, and Canadian businesses cannot simply be told to find another market and move on. The United States is our largest trading partner. That relationship matters. The Prime Minister needs to get back to work here at home, get back to the table with the United States and get this trade war resolved. That is what he promised in the last election. Canadian workers need results. The government claims it is serious about affordability, so it should be looking at every opportunity to lower costs and strengthen the Canadian economy. Lower the cost of fuel. Get our products to market. Remove the barriers to building homes. Cut unnecessary red tape. Create the conditions for businesses to invest, expand and hire. Protect Canada’s access to its largest trading partner. The Liberal government cannot tax Canadians into prosperity, try as it might, and it cannot replace economic results with announcements. International meetings have their place, and new trade relationships have their place, but Canadians should be able to look at what their government is doing and see those efforts producing results here at home: more jobs, more investment, more homes, more projects getting built and paycheques that actually go further. Canadians are doing their part: the single mother driving to work every morning, the tradesman loading his truck before sunrise, the farmer putting fuel in his equipment, the trucker moving Canadian goods across this enormous country, and the small business owner trying to make payroll. Those are the people we should be thinking about when we debate the bill. They benefit from paying less tax on fuel. The question is straightforward. If extending the relief through January helps Canadians, why not give them a few more months? Why not extend broader fuel tax relief until at least Canada Day 2027? Give Canadian families more time with lower fuel costs. Give farmers and truckers more breathing room. Give small businesses more time with lower operating costs.”

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  “Conservatives are calling for all federal taxes on gas and diesel to be removed until at least Canada Day 2027.”

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“The Prime Minister promised to get a trade deal with the United States, but he has not done it. Adding more trade fees hurts Canadians, and we cannot just replace the American market with Europe. The government needs to get back to the table and make a deal with no extra fees.”

“Mr. Speaker, clearly the United States is our biggest trading partner. The Prime Minister ran a whole campaign saying he was the person who would get a deal with the United States. Where is it? Why not get back to the table with our largest trading partner? Tariffs upon tariffs do not benefit Canadians. We have to get back to the table. We have to get a tariff-free deal with the United States of America, our biggest trading partner. We just cannot sit back and say we are going to replace that market with the European market. It does not work that way.”

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“The government says Conservatives are just scaring people, but we are listening to them. I want my colleague to share examples of the hardships Canadians face, and how cutting the gas tax until Canada Day would help them.”

“Mr. Speaker, I found it interesting yesterday during question period that the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources accused me, and Conservatives generally, of scaring Canadians. I would argue, and did yesterday, that the truth is what we are actually doing is hearing Canadians. I would like to ask my colleague to give us a couple of examples of where he has heard from Canadians about the struggles they are going through and what extending a full relief of gas tax until next Canada Day could mean for them.”

“Life costs too much, and government spending is driving inflation up. This tax break on fuel helps, but it needs to last longer. We should keep the full tax break until Canada Day.”

“Mr. Speaker, I hear that question all the time, just going into a grocery store. Every penny counts these days. People are so hard pressed. As my other colleague was talking about, the wild spending by the Liberal government fuels inflation. It drives all the costs up. This little bit of a break is good, but it should go further. We should get it until Canada Day.”

“Our tariffs on the United States are hurting Canadian businesses and forcing some to close. We cannot replace trade with the United States with trade in Europe. The government must negotiate with the Americans for tariff-free trade.”

“Mr. Speaker, we have already seen the result of the tit-for-tat tariffs, because Canadian businesses are being hurt. That is the great irony. The government goes after the U.S. and slaps on a tariff, but Canadian businesses are actually going out of business because of it. We have to get back to the table and negotiate tariff-free access to the United States of America, our biggest trading partner. We are not going to replace it with Europe, despite the fact that the Prime Minister spends more time in Europe than he does here in the House of Commons.”